Build Me Up (NaNoWriMo)

Day 17 (7,888 words)

“So… anything good on TV?” Kristen asked, tired of exhausting one topic after another.

“Let’s see,” Ford said and leaned over to grab the remote control off the table. “You’re a fan of bad reality TV, aren’t you?”

“You’re not?”

“All this testosterone makes me veer solely towards the sports channels, I’m afraid,” he grinned. “But I can sit through an episode of The Bachelor if I must.”

“The fact that you even know that’s a reality show just gave you away,” Kristen said smugly.

“I watch commercials.”

“Right.”

“Let’s see what’s on Bravo – that’s the channel to go for bad reality TV, right?”

“You so follow those shows,” Kristen laughed.

He ignored her and flipped through channels. “Ah. Bored Housewives of Beverly Hills. Should make you feel right at home.”

“Or make me homesick,” Kristen pointed out.

“Do you miss it? California, I mean.”

“On a day like this? Yeah, I miss being warm and feeling the sun on my skin. I miss getting dressed up and going out, doing my hair and nails, getting massages…”

“Well, this isn’t exactly a spa, but I do give a great foot rub.”

“Seriously? You wanna massage my feet?” Kristen raised her eyebrows at him. “Why?”

“I might find a tiny bit guilty for getting you all muddy,” he shrugged.

“Okay… I have to warn you, though. I only had your 2-in-1 shower gel slash shampoo to clean myself up with, so I’m not exactly smelling of roses.” Kristen put her feet up on the couch and let Ford pull them into his lap. She could feel his thigh muscles moving underneath and she tensed.

“Relax,” he said and started stroking the balls of her feet with his thumbs, “watch your show and pretend you’re in some fancy L.A. spa getting your feet pampered.”

“Yeah, like that’s…” Kristen started, and then he hit a pressure point and she liquefied, sinking into the couch and closing her eyes with pleasure. “Mmm. Don’t stop.”

Ford focused on the clinical aspect of massaging a person’s feet – finding pressure points and tense sections to alleviate pain – and blocked out the little moans of contentment coming from Kristen. Well, he did his damndest to try to, anyway.

He’d given Suzy foot rubs back when they were married, and even though it had been tied into the more sensuous part of their marriage at first, once Annabelle came along it had been a way of pain relief for Suzy’s feet and an act of appreciation on his part. Then she didn’t need him to rub her feet anymore.

He hadn’t realized until now that he missed this part – of being close to someone and taking care of them with minimum effort. Not that he was close to Kristen – or taking care of her in any way. It just felt natural to offer as she was obviously cold and a little blue. Mood wise, not color wise.

The more he worked her feet, stroking a few inches up her legs, the more he became aware of the fact that she smelled like his shower, and that she was wearing his clothes… and that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath his clothes.

That last part had him drop her feet like hot potatoes straight off the grill. “All done.”

She looked as if she was about to object, maybe even pout, but nothing came out. Instead, she thanked him and curled back up in her corner of the couch.